Berrick Barnes called for more Wallabies internal trials after a bumper crowd of around 3,000 fans packed Sydney's Riverview College on Thursday to watch Australia's rugby stars battle it out for a place on the spring tour.

Cars were still flowing into the ground after kick-off and some fans even climbed trees for a better vantage point as Wallabies coach Robbie Deans put his players through a pressure-filled possibles versus probables-type match-up before he trims his squad from 43 to 35 players on Friday.

The Wallabies were less than enthused about the prospect of going head to head with their teammates when the idea was first floated last month, but there was certainly no holding back with places on the historic grand slam tour up for grabs.

Several players suffered head wounds and Stephen Hoiles limped off with a hamstring injury, but Barnes said the trial was just what the doctor ordered - just maybe not the Wallabies doctor.

"It was a pretty solid out there, that's for sure," Barnes said.

"It was a good contest out there for us, a chance to blow a few cobwebs out after a few weeks off.

"It was good the way it was run too. Obviously everyone got set structures and things to work with, so I thought it was a good sort of experiment."

Barnes said he was surprised that so many spectators braved the unseasonally chilly conditions for the trial.

"It was great to see so many kids here and on a cold and windy sort of day, it's a great turnout," the midfield ace said.

"Next year we could put it maybe at a North Sydney Oval on a Sunday arvo, or something like that and it would be a great turnout.

"I think we could really make something of this.

"Obviously it was run pretty well and hopefully we can do a bit more in the future."

Deans ordered the trial after being left furious with the Wallabies' capitulation in the final Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks in Wellington last month, but Barnes hoped he and his teammates had proved on Thursday they remained committed to the national cause.

"We're all mates out there and we were ripping into each other pretty heavily," he said.

"So I think that shows that guys want an opportunity at this 35-man squad."

For the record, the Wombats, with Barnes and superstar five-eighth Matt Giteau leading a mostly Test-strength line-up, ran out seven-tries-to-two victors over the Possoms.

"The Possoms set it off," Barnes said. "They started their nickname first and they were having closed-door meetings and all this sort of stuff.

"They were really trying to ham it up, so we thought we get pretty physical when we came out here today.

"We were the old Wombats so we had to make sure we aimed up, so thankfully we did."

The match raised more than $3,500 for victims of the Pacific Islands tsunami.

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